Amoy Street Food Centre may be closed for upgrading works, but Mad Roasters ain’t resting on their laurels — apart from their Joo Chiat location being still up and running, they have also recently started operations with their pop-up operations at Moonstone Bar, as well as a brand new outlet at Depot Heights Shopping Centre, which is also their very first individual location with a cafe-esquire setting. Decorated rather simply, the interior design seems to suggest function over form, though we still found the slightly tropical theming somewhat welcoming despite its simplicity. Apart from serving up their usual Cinnamon/Chocolate Babka, they do also serve up two new savoury items at Depot Heights Shopping Centre — the Grilled Cheese Brioche, and the Avocado Brioche Toast.

The Brioche Grilled Cheese is a relatively simple grilled cheese sandwich that comprises of Cheddar, Herbs and Laminated Brioche. I liked how the portion of the sandwich here is pretty suitable for a light bite — probably something I wouldn’t mind having when I am feeling peckish considering how grilled cheese sandwiches at other cafes tend to feel like an entire meal affair (and sometimes, comes full with a bowl of tomato soup at the side to dip in). Given the ingredients that go into the making of the Brioche Grilled Cheese, little can go wrong in here — oozy, melted cheese that is all savoury that comes in between two slices of bread; but if there is anything that stands out in this variant, it would have been the Laminated Brioche. There’s no doubt that the brioche did carry that distinct hint of sweetness lingering subtly at the back of the tongue here, but one could also easily notice how the brioche comes with a layered texture almost akin to that of a croissant — the brioche having went through the same exact lamination process thus the unique texture; pretty interesting indeed.

From just simply a hawker stall, Mad Roaster had come a long way, especially given how it has rode through the waves of COVID-19 being an operator of a hawker stall in The Central Business District. Nobody quite knows what else the pandemic will bring, but this is definitely an exciting phase for the folks behind Mad Roaster whilst staying true to their roots of not just being yet another name in the F&B scene, but also one that cares for the community at large.